When the Bough Breaks
by The Wolf's Shadow
Summary: One by one Splinter leaves a turtle behind. As time passes the reason, and Splinter, changes. Songfic. Deathfic. AU.


Disclaimer: I don't own any part of the TMNT franchise or the characters in it.

A/N: This is my first attempt at a songfic, so beware. Mwahahaha! I actually promised myself I would never write one of these. I also promised myself I would never write a Twilight fanfic. I read some of Connie Nervegas' songfics and loved them so much I decided to try my hand at it. I'll see if I can keep the second promise... The song is Rock-a-bye Baby.

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**Rock-a-bye baby**

The sounds from above were loud, raucous, as the rat scurried towards the turtles. They'd landed in a strange substance, green and glowing. The rat inspected them as he gathered them up. One's shell had cracked from the fall and its small body looked... wrong. Still, the rat placed it with the rest.

**On the treetop**

The Rat woke to their cries. The turtles were much larger than before, and for that matter so was he. Three of them were huddled around the fourth, knowing something was wrong but not what. He moved one aside to see what was the matter. The fourth, due to his injuries, had grown _wrong_ during the night. The turtles flesh was cold to the touch, its limbs stiff. With nothing else to do, the Rat gathered the other turtles and began walking, leaving the last one behind.**  
**

**When the wind blows**

"Daddy!" The smallest turtle cried as he fell into the rushing sewer water. Splinter thrust out an arm to catch him, but was too late. Running alongside the current as it carried the small child away from him, he couldn't help but think taking his son scavenging with him was a bad idea. They were all to small. Abruptly, Splinter could no longer hear the child's cries. He ran until he reach the brink, looking at the sharp drop and the churning water below. **  
**

**The cradle will rock**

Hours later he came home soaked to the bone. Again he heard their cries as they left the static filled television and ran to his side. Again they knew something was wrong but not what. He looked over the heads of his two young children, and stared blankly at the television set. _The young one had be so fascinated by it..._**  
**

**When the bough breaks**

Splinter watched as his reckless son fought against his adversaries. Powerless to help, he hid and watched his son's losing battle. As the final blow was struck, he did nothing. They carried his son away and began searching for him. He sat still as they drove off with his son and as they searched. Eventually the searchers also left. Splinter abandoned his hiding place then, and began to limp home. _If it weren't for my son's recklessness, this might not have happened._..**  
**

**The cradle will fall**

With a sigh he sat down on the couch and turned on the TV. Flipping through the channels, he heard footsteps come towards him. _Ah, the news._

"Master Splinter! You should have been home hours ago. What happened to your leg? Where's-" Splinter guided the other's gaze to the screen. Both were silent as they listened to the news report.

_"Under an hour ago, a body was discovered bearing a marked resemblance to one found thirteen years ago. As you can see, though there's a large difference in age and size, there are many similarities in bone structure..." _Images depicted on the screen showed a large, malformed infant turtle and and the broken body of the turtle who had only hours before left their home.

Above the sound of the television, there was a strange silence. Splinter repressed another sigh. _  
_

**And down will come baby**

He knocked the katana lose again, sending it flying across the room. "Turtle! This is the third time today!"

"Yes, Sensei. I'll try harder-" In one swift movement Splinter crossed the short distance between them. Even though he was old and had never been tall, he seemed to tower over the turtle. His eyes narrowed.

"Do not _try_! You must do!" Splinter ordered. Wide eyes met his. The young eyes showed everything, then abruptly nothing.

"... yes, Sensei." The turtle retrieved his sword.

** Cradle and all**

Standing a few rooftops away, Splinter watched the building burn. The turtle had failed. The Shredder still live. The building's supports crumbled and Splinter watched as slowly the building fell. The turtle had only made it to the Shredder to be struck down. The Shredder had escaped unharmed.

Splinter turned away from the fire and sound of sirens. As he walked away, the heat on his back cooled. _This is only a setback._

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2A/N: So not quite up to Connie's songfics, but I can live with that. For anyone who's confused about the song choice: I've always thought this song- er, lullaby was sort of creepy/sad. It just screams abandoned. Even when I was young, when listening to it I always had the image of a baby in a crib hanging from a tree branch, alone on a hill. Eventually as dusk settles the wind comes and... well, you know the rest. To this day I still think, _Who the heck put the baby in the stinkin' tree in the first place?_ *coughs* So there you go. Please review and tell me what you think. Please?_  
_


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